Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Tanya Lee Stone Website:

http://www.tanyastone.com/

Tanya Lee Stone Biography:

http://www.tanyastone.com/bio.html

Illustrator Information:

Steven Salerno Website:

https://www.stevensalerno.com/

Steven Salerno Biography:

https://www.stevensalerno.com/bio

Steven Salerno Blog:

https://www.stevensalerno.com/blog-posts

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Learn:

Learn about the surprising history of Monopoly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz5H0cg2uXs

Learn about President Theodore Roosevelt, “The Trust Buster,” and how he broke up large companies called monopolies.

https://www.ducksters.com/biography/uspresidents/theodoreroosevelt.php

Lizzie Magie wanted kids to learn how unjust the relationship between Landlord and tenant was in the early 1900s, so she created Monopoly. The game introduced finance and money terms to its players. Learn some of these terms.

https://www.ducksters.com/money/glossary_and_terms.php

Learn about patents and intellectual property.

https://www.uspto.gov/kids/ipeverywhere1.html

Learn how to patent your idea and/or invention.

https://www.kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/student-inventions/

Ruth Hoskins, a teacher in Atlantic City, made her own lasting changes to the game. She renamed most of the properties after Atlantic City streets. Take a look at images of Atlantic City in the 1900s that inspired Hoskin’s changes to the game.

https://rivertonhistory.com/images/atlantic-city-images/

Find out more “Tremendous Trivia” by looking at the back matter of the book.

Play:

How to play monopoly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuWvMgYv03g

Set up different board games throughout the classroom or library and have the students rotate through the games. Students can share the strategies they used for each of the games, the purpose of the game, and what skills were gained when playing the game.

Test your knowledge with “Monopoly Math” found in the back matter of the book.

MakerSpace Activities:

Create your own board game.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson-docs/NovelBoardGameRubric.pdf

Recreate the monopoly board game just like the many devoted fans did in the early 1900s.

Make changes to an expired patent at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.

https://www.uspto.gov/kids/build.html

Create your own Caine’s Arcade. Caine’s Arcade website is full of ideas for kids to create their own arcade games.

http://cainesarcade.com/schools/activitykits/

Discussion Questions:

Why do you think board games are still popular?

Do you ever play board games? What are some of the reasons you like to play board games?

Have you ever played Monopoly? If you have, what do you remember about the game?

The game Monopoly is about making and losing money. Why do you think this type of game is so popular?

In the 1800s, many people moved from small rural towns to big cities. What do you think that was like for those families that moved? How did their lives change?

Lizzie Magie felt that landlords in these big cities were taking advantage of their tenants. Why do you think she created a game to share these concerns?

Why did Lizzie Magie create the game for grown-ups and not kids?

What is a patent? Why are patents important for inventors like Lizzie Magie?

Lizzie Magie filed a patent for her game, and it was the first ever patent for a board game. Why did Lizzie feel she needed to file a patent to claim credit?

As people became more aware of Lizzie’s game, players would make their own boards and make changes to the rules of the game. Why did the fans of the game make it their own?

When you play board games or card games do you ever change the rules? Why?

Lizzie tried to sell her game to The Parker Brothers Game Company, but they turned her down twice. Why do you think the Parker Brothers didn’t want to purchase the game?

Charles Darrow came across the game during the Great Depression. Why do you think this game was so popular during a time when people were struggling financially?

Why was Charles Darrow’s version of Monopoly more popular than Lizzie’s version?

What did Charles do that was different from Lizzie’s approach to selling the game?

Was it right for Charles Darrow to claim that he invented Monopoly?

Why did Lizzie agree to sell her patent for Monopoly to the Parker Brothers?

Charles Darrow was named inventor of Monopoly, which infuriated Lizzie. She sold the game to Parker Brothers so why was she still mad?

Do you think Lizzie’s version of the game would have been as popular as Charles’s version?

What changes to the game would you make to make it more relevant to today?

Book Talk Teasers:

Play the book trailer for Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly was Invented, found on the Texas Bluebonnet Award YouTube channel.

Present the readers theater for Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly was Invented.

Read Alikes:

Inventors and Inventions:

Anderson, Kirsten. Who Was Milton Bradley? Meet the man behind the board games: His early life consisted of several highs and lows, from graduating high school and attending Harvard to getting laid off and losing his first wife. These experiences gave Bradley the idea for his first board game: The Checkered Game of Life. He produced and sold Life across the country and it quickly became a national sensation.Working with his company, the Milton Bradley Company, he continued to produce board games, crayons, and kid-friendly school supplies for the rest of his life. (Novelist Plus)

Ford, Gilbert.The Marvelous Thing That Came from a Spring: The Accidental Invention of the Toy That Swept the Nation. Discover the dramatic history of an iconic toy (the slinky) with this intriguing nonfiction picture book. (Novelist Plus)

McCarthy, Meghan. Earmuffs for Everyone! The person who gets the credit for an invention isn’t always the first person who came up with the idea, as this fascinating, easy-to-understand nonfiction book proves. (Novelist Plus)

Wulffson, Don L. Toys!: Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions. Describes the creation of a variety of toys and games, from seesaws to Silly Putty and toy soldiers to Trivial Pursuit. (Novelist Plus)

Games:

Cohn, Jessica. 10 Fascinating Facts About Toys. Provides facts about toys, including the number of careers that Barbie has had, the total number of people who have played Monopoly over the years, and how the Slinky was invented. (Novelist Plus)

Fontichiaro, Kristin. Designing Board Games. Designing and playing your own board games can be a lot of fun. Through simple text written to foster creativity and problem solving, students will be the art of innovation. Large, colorful images show students how to complete activities. Additional tools, including a glossary and an index, help students learn new vocabulary and locate information. (Novelist Plus)

King, Daniel. Games: learn to play, play to win.

Gilded Age:

Gregory, Josh. Theodore Roosevelt: The 26th President. Shares information about the twenty-sixth president of the United States, including his childhood, his military career, and his presidency. (Novelist Plus)

Morrow, Ann. The Gilded Age. A history of the U.S.A. in the late nineteenth century. (Novelist Plus)

Great Depression:

Jumaine, Suzanne Tripp. Nice Work, Franklin! Shares how Franklin Delano Roosevelt's determination to become president spurred him to overcome his physical ailments, and show America that with hardwork and determination anything can be achieved. (Novelist Plus)

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Dorothea Lange: The Photographer Who Found the Faces of the Great Depression. Before she raised her lens to take her most iconic photo, Dorothea Lange took photos of the downtrodden from bankers in once-fine suits waiting in breadlines, to former slaves, to the homeless sleeping on sidewalks. A case of polio had left her with a limp and sympathetic to those less fortunate. Traveling across the United States, documenting with her camera and her fieldbook those most affected by the stock market crash, she found the face of the Great Depression. (Novelist Plus)